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Southeastern Counseling program awarded training grant

COUNSELING PROGRAM RECEIVES GRANT – Assistant Professor of Counseling Reshelle Marino, center, explains the new software
program on one of the university's laptops purchased through a Louisiana Board of
Regents grant. The technology will be used in research and student training in the
graduate counseling program. Listening intently are Alysse Bulich, left, and Christianne
Ricard, both graduate counseling education majors from Baton Rouge.

HAMMOND – Thanks to a Louisiana Board of Regents grant totaling $71,340, Southeastern Louisiana
University's graduate counseling program will be the first and only program in the
state to use specialized technology in its research and student training.

The play analyzer software program now in use in the Department of Health & Human
Sciences will allow faculty supervisors to monitor and record live video sessions
of students in practice, said Reshelle Marino, assistant professor of counseling and
principal grant investigator.

Master's level students enrolled in the practicum and internship courses for school
counseling, clinical mental health, or marriage and family tracks will participate
in research. Each student will receive their own laptop, software program, camcorder,
tripod, and SD card reader.

"The system will assist our research process by providing more accurate and efficient
access to clinical data and video examples, allowing supervisors to provide faster
corrective measures for treatment and student training," Marino said. "There are only
12 accredited counseling programs in Louisiana, and we are the first and only program
to utilize this technology."

Marino explained that as a requirement for graduation, counseling graduate students
must perform 700 hours of supervised field experience in their respective graduate
tracks.

"In addition to faculty using the technology to develop training material, utilizing
the technology for the required 700 field experience hours will enhance the experience
for graduate students and allow them to be highly competitive in today's workforce,"
she said.